40-year-old wound that refuses to heal

At three years of age, a ‘plague’ invaded Felistus Kavindu’s life denying her a budding childhood and consuming her blissful youth. Now it is threatening to gobble up her entire existence.

For 40 years, the bandages on her left leg have been a trademark that she uses to cover a wound, which reared its ugly head in childhood.

“I do not remember any point in my life that I have been without this wound. As far as I can remember, it has been part of my existence,” Felistus shares as she carefully nurses the wound.

Born in Wote, Makueni County as the third born child in a family of 12, Felistus says she was born like any other normal child until the age of three when the ailment struck changing the course of her life.

It affected her schooling, more so her secondary education where, despite being in a boarding school, she would spend the better part of the school term either at home or in hospital.

“I have been to several hospitals, most of them on referral, but nothing has come from it. I have literally lived in Kenyatta National Hospital, Kijabe Mission Hospital, Machakos Level 5 among others to the extent that doctors and nurses now shy away from checking me,” she says.

As though this was not bad enough, this ailment has denied her the joys of motherhood after doctors warned her against carrying a pregnancy, saying it would put her life at risk because the chronic wound has affected vital veins.

“I feel bad and sometimes question God when I see my age-mates happily married and settled. I have always wanted to have children of my own. It is sad that time has already caught up with me. And anyway, who would want to marry a smelly person who literary lives on drugs ?” she asks dejectedly.

Due to transport expenses, Felistus was forced to leave Wote in 2010 and relocate to Machakos town where she now lives alone in a single-roomed rented house near the hospital.

“I have to visit the hospital at least once in three days to have the wound dressed as well as collect several sets of painkillers. Sometimes I dress the wound at home on my own,” she says.

According to Peter Kilonzo, a consultant orthopedic surgeon, and one of the doctors who has attended to Felistus at Machakos Level 5 hospital, her condition is known as lymphedema.

He says lymphedema is an abnormal obstruction of the flow of lymph - a special fluid that fights bacteria - which causes the fluid to build up leading to swelling.

“The primary cause of this blockage, in most cases, is hereditary while the secondary cause can for example - be as a result of cancer treatment,” he says.

In Felistus’s case, not only does the blockage cause a swelling, it also occasionally bursts, which has been the cause of the chronic wound.

“This is not a very rare case. On average, we treat between two to three patients in a month although Felistus’s case is a complex one since the wound has overstayed,” Dr Kilonzo says.

Most of these patients either undergo micro-surgery or an amputation of the affected part. But amputation comes in only as a last resort because this condition affects veins, which might in turn affect other vital body organs,” the doctor says.

He however, says surgery costs are prohibitive due to the few facilities available in the country and limited number of trained micro-surgeons.

“We have about six trained micro-surgeons in the country. Because of this, most patients often have to travel to India for treatment because they have better, well-equipped facilities and the costs are fairer,” he says.

And it is the hope for this journey that Kavindu is clinging to as she raises the funds needed to make this a reality.

“This wound has denied me a full life. I cannot remember a time I have been without this constant pain. I nonetheless remain optimistic that God will send His healing miracle and give me joy again,” says a teary Felistus.